4 March 2005

4 March 2005

4 March 2005 The island of Jersey is to permit eugenic abortion, BBC reports.

The decision by the States followed a heated debate and a demonstration by the Jersey Alliance for Life. Two States members, Paul Routier and Jackie Hilton, said that allowing abortion in case of disability would lead to all babies with disabilities being devalued.

[BBC, 3 March ] The Brazilian Congress has authorised the use of embryonic stem cells for research purposes.

The vote was passed 366-59 with three abstentions.

[AFXNews, 3 March ] The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the ban on partial birth abortion in Michigan.

The state law was passed after voters signed petitions for the bill to become law, bypassing the pro-abortion governor Jennifer Granholm.

[Detroit Free Press, 2 March ] The UK magazine Pregnancy and Birth has calculated that the first five years of a baby's life costs parents an average of £52,605.

The figure includes nursery care, maternity clothes, "child-proofing" a house and baby milk.

Kaye McIntosh, the magazine's editor, said: "Babies change your life financially in a way nothing else will but having a baby is the best thing that will ever happen to you and you cannot put a price on that."

[The Telegraph, 3 March ] A man has been charged with killing his pregnant girlfriend, allegedly because she refused an abortion. Susan Ambrosino, who already had a nine-year-old daughter, was shot in the head and her body hidden in a car.

Her brother, Anthony Napolitano told a news conference that Steven Schiovone wanted her to have an abortion. He said: "She had a love for life and even more love for children.

We believe it was this love of life, of her refusal to get an abortion, that compelled her killer." [Lifenews.com, 2 March ] A hit man has been sentenced to 90 years in prison after being convicted of attempting to kill an unborn child. Angelique McKinney was shot five times by Jimmy Spencer and her baby Adriel was born with a bullet wound in her arm and no pulse.

She survived and is now two-years-old. Mr Spencer alleged that the baby's father had paid him to kill her and had asked Ms McKinney to have an abortion which she refused. There is currently insufficient evidence to prosecute the father.

[LifeSiteNews.com, 2 March ] A mother who carried a pregnancy to term, knowing that the baby would not live long after birth has written a book about her experience, encouraged by the doctors who cared for her and her child.

Isabelle de Mezerac said in an interview with Zenit: "We wished to show that there is an alternative to abortion in cases of diagnosed mortal illness in an unborn baby, and that alternative is the choice to accompany this little life to its natural end."

[Zenit, 2 March ] The Glasgow Royal Infirmary is to offer pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to couples, Daily Record reports.

[Daily Record, 4 March ] Sweden is expected to amend a law that will permit lesbian couples to receive IVF treatment, BBC reports.

After birth, the women will both be legally regarded as the mother.

[BBC, 3 March ] A study by the Portuguese Society of Gynaecology has suggested that nearly one-third of sexually active Portuguese girls between 15 and 19 have taken the morning after pill.

The study involved 3,858 women in this age group. [Yahoo, 3 March ] An Indian court has permitted an abortion to be carried out on a minor following her abduction and rape.

The Guwahati High Court stated that there was no legal obstacle to the abortion being carried out through a registered medical practitioner.

[Navhind Times, 3 March ] The South African group Doctors for Life (DFL) have issued a legal challenge against recent amendments to health laws, including the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act, alleging that Parliament violated the Constitution by depriving the public of the right to make submissions.

The health department was unaware of the legal application at the time of reporting.

[iafrica, 1 March ] The governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, has unveiled a $4 million plan to offer women free pre-abortion counselling.

The plans cover the setting up of a free helpline, training counsellors, establishing programmes for new parents and launching a media campaign encouraging alternatives to abortion such as adoption.

[CWNews, 3 March ] A feminist author, famous for her book 'Our Bodies, Ourselves' has highlighted the exploitative nature of human cloning.

Judy Norsigian is pro-abortion and sympathetic to embryo research but has raised concerns that women will be pressurised into undergoing potentially dangerous egg-harvesting procedures in order to supply researchers with the massive quantities of eggs needed to carry out human cloning.

[LifeSiteNews.com, 3 March ] The Zenit News Agency has published an interview with Austin Ruse of the pro-life organisation C-FAM explaining the current debate surrounding the Beijing+10 conference in New York.

The interview clarifies the status of abortion within the original document and the amendment proposed by the US, which states that it does not establish a right to abortion. [Zenit, 3 March ]